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How to handle office romances that don’t work out

Keep it professionalAvoid mixing personal and professional lives. Focus on your work and channelise your energies in excelling at what is on hand. Make progressive goals in your assignments and/or tasks. If working in a team with your ex, then keep it simple and to the point only!

Check the drama in the lobbyAny breakup-related conversations or unfinished business should be discussed after work. Your workplace is no place for you to vent and your colleagues’ lunch hour needn’t be all about you and your failed relationship. Avoid getting personal, directly or indirectly. You sure don’t want a love drama in your boardroom!

Limit interactionsYou may not be able to avoid meetings and conferences, but other little changes could ease your heartache a bit. For starters, you probably checked in or out together while you were a couple. However, reality bites so now in order to avoid the awkwardness, you might want to swipe in a little early or swipe out a little later, eh? Ditto your lunch hour or break time. If you are pushing the envelope, you might even change the company while having lunch or during tea breaks..

Avoid gossipIt might be difficult to swallow your pride and work in the same room as your ex. You might want to discuss it with your colleague. Avoid it. Instead, talk to your friends and family outside office premises. You’ll be far removed from the gossip and an unwilling depository of unnecessary news about the ex.

Change or transfer, if requiredIf you’re the kind who believes in pushing the envelope, and have suddenly caught a bad case of claustrophobia, then— depending on how big or small your firm is —a change of pace and scenery is on the anvil. For instance, in case of a large firm, you could probably look at a transfer in another vertical or department. This could keep you at bay from any kind of interactions with your ex. However, if your firm is small, then you might want to update and upload your resume once again on job sites and look for placement, elsewhere.